1. Belongs: The univers and characters of Detroit Become Human belong to Quantic Dreams and David Cage.
2. Rating: "T" in general, but might be "M" for cursed words, graphics contents such as violence, injuries or sexual scenes.
3. Summary: Conrad must once again confront the AI parasitizing his programs in order to find out who it's operating for and why.
CHAPTER 20
" 1K "
Conrad had been locked in the cell for good three hours now. He had rebooted an hour after being electrocuted by the taser, but he remained there, sitting on the bunk, still handcuffed. Connor had offered to go to the interrogation room but he refused, preferring to stay there. Conrad was in control again, but for how long? How long before the AI takes over? How long before it hurts or even kills someone?
The breach Connor had created in the code had left a door open to the Zen Garden and the data it contained. And while the AI took possession of his body, it let his guard down on the zen garden.
Conrad had then access to his lost memories.
And he wished, in the end, to never had seen them. But it was too late. He knew everything now. He knew what the AI had done using him. He knew the atrocious things he had done.
And it all made sense. He now understood why Jela hadn't contacted him.
It was because he was already there.
"Hey ..? "
The android lifted his head and saw Gavin standing in front of the cell glass. The fear that ran through his programmings faded upon seeing him, and he slowly rose from the bunk to approach the glass wall and be at the same height with the human.
"Gavin…" He looked at him apologetically. "I swear ... It wasn't me ..."
"I know…" Gavin pursed his lips. "Connor explained me during the break." He leaned his shoulder against the glass. "I'm sorry I messed you up ..."
"I don't blame you ..." he smirked as he leaned against the glass as well, searching for contact through the glass. "It wasn't me… and I wasn't damaged. "
Gavin didn't answer, just staring at the android, lost between confusion and sadness.
"We'll have to find a solution, Conrad. Connor told me that all you need to do is delete the Zen Garden to remove this AI. "
"Except I can't do it right now Gavin…" Conrad pushed away and started to pace. "If I remove it, we'll never know what it wanted, and who's in control. And they can implant the AI in another android and continue the work. "
" What work.. ? "
The android stopped and turned to the detective. He looked down for a few seconds in thought, then lifted his head, the LED swirling red, and looked at him more saddened. Gavin hated it when Conrad showed negative emotions. He was so genuine it broke his heart to see him like this.
Conrad moved closer to the window and put his hands flat against it.
"They… used me to threaten people, both androids and humans, because they knew things. But they made worse, Gavin... "
"I forbid you to say what I think you are about to say." Gavin said on his nerves, fear twisting his stomach. "I-If you tell me that… that the AI killed Django and Jela through you … then you're going to be arrested or worse! "
"I see..." Conrad gave a poor smile. "That you are and always have been very smart, Gavin ..."
"Oh for fucking God's sake ..." The human ran his hands over his face. " It's a nightmare.. ! "
"Gavin, calm down…"
"But how the hell do you want me to calm down ? You know there is no point in putting androids in jail ..! To do what ? Let them rust after a hundred years ? People destroy them ..!" He opened his mouth in terror. "They will destroy you ..! "
"Gavin ..."
"And stop saying my fucking name ! "
The fist banged loudly against the armored glass wall, echoing the pain throughout the human nervous system. He cursed over and over, clenching his fist against his chest. Conrad wanted to come out and reassure him, to tell him everything would be fine, to try to ease his pain, but he was too afraid that the AI would use this moment to return.
He was a coward.
"Gavin, listen to me. We have proof. The recordings which I now have access to prove the involvement of the AI and probably Cyberlife people behind it too. I wasn't myself. And we both know that there's now a law that says if a non-deviant android or one who has no control over themselves commits a crime, the builder or hacker is fully responsible. We can use that for this situation. Once we trace the source that controls the AI, then I could remove it all and be just myself again. "
"It's way too risky. These laws are all new, and if the judge is anti-android, you can be sure he will use the loopholes in these new decrees. "
Gavin sighed, feeling the pain in his fist subside. He rested his forehead against the glass, closing his eyes. He heard something touch the glass just behind, and when he looked he saw Conrad's hand against the glass, devoid of synthetic skin. Gavin felt his heart pound painfully.
He didn't want to lose Conrad. He didn't want him to give up on him. He didn't want him to be destroyed.
Gavin gently laid his hand flat on the glass in turn, superimposing it on the Android's. He looked up and gazed into Conrad's steel eyes.
"Delete everything... please..."
"Gavin..."
"I beg you..." He pursed his lips. "We can still find who's behind it all... I don't want you to expose yourself any longer... I don't want to... lose you..."
Gavin's heart rate was very high, and Conrad could clearly see he was about to break. The human whispered one more please and Conrad closed his eyes, sighing.
" Okay... "
He'll do it for Gavin. He knew they could solve this case without the zen garden and the AI in Conrad's programmings, only it'll certainly take longer than expected. But ... If he did keep it, Fowler will find out at some point that Conrad is partly responsible for Jela's death, and the case will be taken off him. He will then have a trial, and there was a good chance that things would turn out badly for him, Gavin was right.
And Conrad didn't want to die. He didn't want Gavin to be alone again. He wanted to live and live with him.
The android closed his eyes then. When he virtually reopened them, he found himself in the zen garden again. Every virtual interface had an emergency exit in order to deactivate the place and all its contents. Since the AI was tied to the garden, it will be removed as well.
Conrad then scanned his surroundings.
"You finally came back. "
The android turned to his left and saw the AI leaning against a tree, arms folded across his chest.
" You're still here." Conrad said bitterly as he moved closer to him. " Why ? What do you want ? "
"You're not asking the right questions." The man said, pushing himself off the tree to join him. "Because I don't want anything. "
"You are not deviant. "
"Oh no, that's your role. My job is to follow someone else's orders. "
"So I rephrase my question." Conrad said, fixing his blue eyes into the AI gray ones. "What does this person want? And who are they? "
The IA smirked, put its arms behind its back, and looked at Conrad almost affectionately.
"Do you really think this is just a Cyberlife programmed deviancy story?" Conrad narrowed his eyes. " Follow me. "
The AI led the way and Conrad followed suit. They took a few steps on the paved path along the lake.
"You are not entirely wrong about Cyberlife's involvement in planned deviancy. At least, it was Elijah Kamski who had experimented with implementing the RA9 code, which was only supposed to be triggered when the android was faced with a certain situation. At this point, the android chooses whether or not to become deviant. "
"To cross the wall ..." Conrad said, seeing that famous wall again through Connor's memories.
" That is correct." The AI continued as he walked, its arms behind its back. "The deviants are thus becoming more and more numerous, Amanda Stern created a militia of deviant hunters in order to know the cause of this virus and be able to stop it. "
"An androids militia..." Conrad looked at his snow-like double. "The RKs? "
"The RKs, indeed. We are part of this militia. But… Despite the fact that the Revolution of November 2038 was won by androids and Cyberlife took an oath to stop harming androids and supporting them… A stand-alone protocol has remained active, which wasn't ultimately under Cyberlife's control. "
"The militia." Conrad stopped. "Let's say that the militia is indeed autonomous, and continues to hunt deviants. Why did you kill Mary Walker? She was human, not a deviant android. "
"Mary Walker, during the Revolution, knew too much about the RA9 code because of her daughter, who had been Elijah Kamski's accomplice during his experiments." The AI turned to him. "I read Diana's journal thanks to you, thank you Conrad." He smiled and resumed walking. "Cyberlife wanted us to intercept Jela, the deviant AX400, and they wanted to blackmail Mary Walker. She was unwilling to cooperate, and she killed herself in her living room. Cyberlife has nothing to do with it. At least not directly. They are the cause, but no more involved than an employee committing suicide under the pressure of his job. You understand ? "
"So… Cyberlife is responsible for Mary Walker's suicide…" The AI nodded. "But everything that happened after the Revolution, including the Django and Jela cases ..."
"This is us. The militia. "
"But who's leading the Militia today? You said it was a stand-alone protocol, I understand it's only on the server aspect. It's no more under Cyberlife's control. So who has it? Amanda Stern is deceased, and her AI has been removed. "
The AI looked at him with a smile.
"I can't say anything about the identity of my master. And …" He approached slowly. "I know what you're about to do with me." He whispered in his ear. "You cannot destroy me Conrad… He will only have to transfer me to another body than yours to accomplish my mission…"
"And… what is your mission ..? "
"Destroy the deviants. Like all good RK. "
"RK ..? "
Conrad only realized now. The AI kept talking about them as RKs all along. And there was that resemblance to himself and Connor too, except for the eyes, and the hair, and the unusually light skin, like an albino.
"What are you ?" Conrad looked at him as he started to back away. "You're not just an AI ..."
"I'm faster..." He took a step towards him. "... stronger ..." a second. " … more resilient". Then a third. "More advanced than you, RK900. "
"Are you… an RK1000 ..? "
"My name is 1K." He smiles with a look of madness in his eyes. "And now that you know I exist, I have to integrate a new body. Coexisting with you has become too complicated. My real body is finished anyway. "
"I can't let you do your mission 1K. "
Conrad suddenly grabbed him by the throat and squeezed his fingers as hard as possible. Physical strength didn't matter in the Zen garden, but that pressure expressed the effort that Conrad was putting in his softwares to take over the AI. Over 1K.
But the latter looked at him amusedly, despite the bugs and glitches that were beginning to take hold of him and the zen garden.
"If you erase me out here, I would come back for Connor, and for you, because without me you're just a deviant, and I track deviants."
"I will find you first and destroy you."
The Zen garden then began to shake and fade, as did 1K, whose face crumbled in a trail of pixels. Conrad closed his eyes to focus more intently, squeezing his fingers harder and harder until the back of 1K's neck snapped in his hand, and shattering the RK1000 in a cloud of pixels dissolving in the air.
Conrad reopened his eyes to reality. The LED flashes red then turns yellow again. He felt that the zen garden no longer existed, and that 1K was no longer present in his codes. He was finally released from the RK1000's control.
He looked up and saw that Gavin was still there, leaning against the cell glass. He looked worried, then looked at him questioningly. Conrad inhaled, finally finding his blue LED.
"It's done." Conrad said, resting his hand against the human's though the glass separating them. "Everything has been erased... "
" How are you.. ? "
" I'm fine." He said honestly. "But I discovered something before I deleted the zen garden and the AI. "
" What ? "
"It's not just an AI, but an RK1000. And it plans to integrate a new body soon. "
Gavin felt his jaw drop by surprise. Conrad had a successor. And a psychopathic and murderous successor all the more.
The detective moved off the window and put his hand on the scanner on the wall. The glass door then opened with a hiss and he entered the cell to face him.
"What about… We quickly reported what you know about it, then we go outside for five minutes ..?"
Gavin looked away, slightly flushed with embarrassment, as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He needed a break after all he had seen and heard in the morning. He'd had a quick bite to eat with Connor so he could explain everything to him, but he wanted to take a break with Conrad. He didn't really like the idea that they hadn't greeted each other today. Things were supposed to be better since the promise of the night before, and he was determined to make sure everything turned out as well now. With the threat of the RK1000 now out of the way, for now at least, they could afford to get it right.
Conrad nodded and finally got out of the cell, following Gavin to their desks.
Connor immediately intercepted him, asking if everything was okay for him to be out now, and Conrad simply told him the truth. That he had been forced to erase the AI and the zen garden, and he wasn't under its control. He made his report in a few minutes, writing down the RK1000's existence, the RK militia still active, Cyberlife's involvement in the Mary Walker suicide while still failing to have a proof that could involve them in Django and Jela's murders.
Gavin had Jela's memory analyzed with Connor, but it had been too damaged to get anything out of it, much to Conrad's relief.
Gavin was already in front of the police station smoking, and Conrad, as usual for the past month, joined him with a steaming coffee. April was about to begin, but spring in Detroit was still cool. At best, temperatures reached only 15°C, but during colder periods it could drop below freezing and snow again.
Today the sky was gray, there was no wind, and it was only 7°C. Gavin was wrapped in his jacket smoking, wondering over and over again why he was still smoking and being so excruciatingly cold when he could be warm inside.
"Detective? "
Gavin quickly turned his head to his right, towards the entrance, and saw Conrad, with his Grumpy Cat mug in his hands. He loved it when the android was walking around with it. He looked stupid and adorable at the same time. Gavin smirked and pushed himself off the wall to meet him halfway, being careful to throw his cigarette in the ashtray as he passed.
"Do I remind you that this is Gavin for you? "
"And do I remind you that smoking will kill you?"
Gavin gave him a mischievous look before grinning and taking the mug from the android's hands, bringing it to his lips for a sip.
"Yeah I know… I always wonder why when I freeze my ass."
"I missed your prose. "
Gavin let out a small chuckle before glancing at Conrad, who was looking at him almost fondly.
The detective felt his cheeks suddenly heat up, then nodded, telling the android to follow him. They then moved away from the police station to stop at the corner of the building, which was not very busy. Gavin set his mug down on a window sill at his height and turned to Conrad, who was looking at him puzzled.
He moved closer to him then, and wrapped his arms around his neck gently, bringing their bodies closer together. As Conrad began to respond to the hug, putting his arms around the human's back, Gavin craned his neck to seal his lips against his.
An electric shot ran through all the android's bio-components, suddenly making his pump missing a beat, and then suddenly drumming against the detective's heart, which echoed him. Conrad tightened his arms around his body, pressing his lips more against Gavin's, responding to the kiss fervently.
They parted slowly, and Conrad opened the eyes he had instinctively closed when he kissed him. Gavin was just looking at him, something glowing in his eyes that Conrad had never seen.
He knew what it was, and he pursed his lips. He too did.
"Hello Terminator ..."
Conrad snorted. So that was it. Gavin wanted to say hello to him appropriately. The thought that they could greet each other in this way excited the android, who kissed him again, tenderly.
"Hello Gavin ..."
The human smirked against his lips, kissing him again then lowered his head to rest it against his shoulder, squeezing the android tighter against his body.
"I was afraid of losing you Conrad…" Gavin whispered, pursing his lips.
"I was scared too ..." the android said, responding to the hug, being careful not to hurt him. "But I made you a promise ..." He pulled away from him to look at him. "And I'll hold it ..."
Gavin looked at him with bright eyes, a mixture of emotion and relief. He nodded and pulled away from him completely to pick up his mug.
"I warn you, I'm not an easy going person," Gavin began with a smirk. "Hope you like challenges ..! "
Conrad raised his eyebrows, a smirk as well.
"I love challenges. Especially when they're five feet nine tall and they look at me arrogantly. "
" Oh oh !" Gavin said surprised, blushing, as he resumed walking. "So you like when I'm a little salty hm?" He turned to him as he walked backwards. Conrad was smiling. "Aren't you a bit masochistic ?"
Gavin gave him a wink and Conrad felt his cheeks turn blue. He wasn't masochistic like Gavin said, but he liked when the human let go and provoked him. Conrad liked things to resist him a bit. He was going to be served with Gavin. But this was just because, behind the little insults and his insolence, Gavin was just plain adorable, especially when he was flushed with anger. It just made him want to tease him back even more.
Conrad joined him.
"I just find you adorable behind your tough looks." Conrad said smiling. "And I realize I'm lucky to be the one you accept into your trust circle."
"Seriously ? Conrad, you are more than in my trust circle, I hope you know that huh? "
" I know it. And I feel incredibly proud. "
"There's nothing to be proud of being with a rat like me. "
"A pretty rat then. "
Gavin suddenly jerked his head and glared at the android. Conrad chuckled and gave him a gentle nudge in the human's shoulder.
"Aaah watch out my coffee ! "